Cal Poly's men and UC Santa Barbara's women won their respective team titles for the second year in a row as the 2004 Big West Cross Country Championships took place at the UC Riverside Agricultural Operations course Saturday.

The Mustang men finished five runners in the top 10 for a score of 37 points, outdistancing second place Utah State, which tallied 67 points. The Aggies boasted a one-two individual finish by juniors Trevor Ball and Clark Bryner, who ran the 8K course in 24:08.8 and 24:16.1, respectively. Ball's performance was the second-fastest time by a Big West men's runner this season. However, the Mustangs were able to bring home the crown again thanks to a third place showing by senior Blake Swier (24:20.5), followed by successive seven through 10 finishes by Andy Coughlin (24:25.5), Luke Llamas (24:28.6), Jeff Porto (24:29.4) and Ryan Moorcroft (24:32.8).

Individually, UC Santa Barbara's Chris Ashley and UC Irvine's Ricky Barnes also placed in the top five. The Gauchos tallied 73 points to finish in third while UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton rounded out the top five.

As anticipated, the women's race came down to a battle between nationally ranked programs UC Santa Barbara and Idaho. The two schools combined to finish seven runners in the top 10. The Gauchos prevailed with 29 points as the junior sister tandem of Lauren and Lindsay Christman crossed the line on the 6K course in first and second. Lauren's time of 20:35.1 was the fastest time by a Big West female runner this year, as she broke her previous best from two weeks earlier by more than 22 seconds. Meanwhile, Lindsay finished just three and a half seconds behind in a blistering 20:38.6.

Idaho's 47 points gave the Vandals a strong second place showing, led by junior Mary Kamau. Her time of 20:46.7 was good for third place. Sophomore Mandy Macalister (21:02.1) and junior Bevin Kennelly (21:06.0) finished in eighth and 10th place, respectively. Senior Letiwe Marakurwa, the women's individual champion on this same course in 2002, was a 12th-place finisher.

Utah State's Ashley Johnson and LIda Ripplinger, and UC Irvine's Kim Ramirez rounded out the list of top 10 individuals. The Aggies came in third place with 66 points while Cal Poly finished fourth and UC Irvine fifth.

USU's Ball and UCSB's Lauren Christman were accorded 2004 Big West Male and Female Athlete of the Year honors. Cal Poly's Mark Conover and UC Santa Barbara's Pete Dolan were named 2004 Big West Male and Female Coaches of the Year, respectively.